My BF and I watch a lot of movies and have ran through most of the popular movies and are now trolling netflix for new things to watch. However our stabs in the dark have turned up some real stinkers. I’m hoping you guys can help us with some recomendations.
We like drama, movies with meaning. No hard core violence please. Quirky is good, not need be domestic either. I know this doesn’t narrow it down much. I guess I’m asking for suggestions of good movies I might not have heard of. Thanks.
At home, not the theater? Because there are several excellent films playing in theaters now. At home though,
Tarsem Singh’s The Fall. You will never have seen anything like it.
I’ll look through my Netflix ratings and pick out some I liked that might fit.
12 Angry Men
Amelie
The Best Years of Our Lives
The Commitments
The Constant Gardener
The Elephant Man
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Ice Storm
Local Hero
Lost in Translation
Rashomon
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Good Night, and Good Luck
The Queen
The Razor’s Edge
Those are all movies I liked a lot with a lot of drama and little to no violence, to the best of my memory.
Millions
Dirty Pretty Things
The Savages
Let the Right One In
The Station Agent
Out of Sight
Seems Like Old Times
Midnight Run
Blood Simple
Big Night
The Sweet Hereafter
Forces of Nature
One False Move
Smile
Papillon
Withnail & I
Day for Night
Rififi
Wages of Fear
Sorcerer
A Matter of Life and Death (Stairway to Heaven)
All of these are worth watching but I don’t want to recommend something you’d absolutely hate so:
Let the Right One In might have a little too much blood for you. Smile and Seems Like Old Times are more comedy than drama. Blood Simple and One False Move have some violence (though not in a horror sense). Riffi, Wages of Fear and Sorcerer (Sorcerer is essentially a remake of Wages of Fear) are quite bleak. Mdinight Run is more action than drama.
Wow, thanks.
To clarify, a scene or two of violence is ok if it’s part of the story just not looking for Tarentino type stuff.
Keep 'em coming!
Best movie of the last year or two was:
In Bruges
It’s a comedy/drama and is brilliant on all levels.
Please get it.
Memento is a great crime drama with a very interesting format.
Pride & Prejudice (the 2005 remake) is one of my favorite comedy/romances ever. Keira Knightley is incandescent and was nominated for an Oscar.
Breaker Morant is an excellent war movie/courtroom drama set during the Boer War. You’ll never forget it.
The Incredibles is the perfect superhero movie IMHO.
Do you like older stuff? Notorious (Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains and Cary Grant, 1946) is my favorite Hitchcock film. A great cast, a great screenplay, and atmosphere to burn. A wonderful melding of spy thriller and romance.
“The Lucky Ones.” Engaging “road trip” story with nice blend of human interest, drama, character development, and a bit of humor. Features Tim Robbins, Rachel McAdams, and Michael Peña. An overlooked gem, in my opinion.
Millions
Bend it Like Beckham
Mrs. Robinson Presents
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Rock-n-Rolla
Hot Fuzz
Calendar Girls
Wow! I just rented this, thanks to your post. Absolutely wonderful!
We were astounded by how good this was- one of the best movies.
Amelie
Y Tu Mamá También
Eulogy
Once
Frailty
I’ll also recommend a comedy, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, cause everyone needs a laugh every once in a while. A very funny comedy that flew under the radar.
4th’ed. I watched this 3 times in a week when I first got it from Netflix. I recommend it to everyone I know, but their eyes always glaze over when they find out it’s a dark comedy staring Colin Farrell. Their loss.
I saw thi in the theater and I agree. It only played for about a week and I was glad I saw it.
5th on the In Bruge recommendation! I saw it 4 or 5 times in the theater before it left. The first screening was a free sneak preview, but the aspect ratio was weird and wasn’t fixed during the movie. The director was there for a Q&A and he was very disappointed to hear that none of us had seen the movie the way he intended. It didn’t matter for me though, I liked the movie so much, bad aspect ratio and all, that I paid to see it several more times.